Reign - Season 1 Finale - Recap: Let Me Be Your Ruler

So the episode brings us to one of history's big eventualities that appeared imminent after last week's episode: the telltale joust in which Henry (Alan Van Sprang) loses his life. The series made a point of illustrating the desperate need to unseat Henry, even intimating that he needed to die if things were ever going to get back to something approaching normalcy. Yet it's stunning just how little his death solves, as there is a myriad of issues left in his wake, some completely unrelated to the madness that threatened to plunge the country into war and desolation. "Slaughter of Innocence" is an episode that posits that not all problems of rulership are necessarily tied to one cause; and even if they are, removing that cause doesn't suddenly set things right. Being an anointed ruler means you're subject to an ever-evolving strain of troublesome issues, as is the case here. Sure, Henry is dead, and this means the plan to invade England presumably dies with him. Except Henry's death does nothing to solve the unrest among English discontents at court, some of whom leave to send word to Queen Elizabeth about Mary (Adelaide Kane) staking a symbolic claim to England by wearing a dress with the English coat of arms, a move that rallies the people to her cause. Henry's death also does nothing to stem the return of the Plague, which sweeps over the land presumably because Bash (Torrance Coombs) murders The Darkness -- only to learn that The Darkness was the mystical entity keeping the Plague at bay.

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Naturally, some of these stories work better than others. Bash's hunt for The Darkness isn't all that interesting within the context of the rest of the episode, and the creature itself -- a man with filed down teeth wearing a bone mask and a robe -- is a bit of an anticlimax. Although, realistically, what else would The Darkness have been? And, admittedly, it was a pretty cool visual as he stalks Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) and Pascal with his scythe. The man is apparently a clairvoyant much like Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland), who has visions foretelling the coming of a plague that can only be stopped by turning little Pascal into his heir -- a new Darkness who will continue the cycle of ritualistic sacrifices. Bash puts an end to that by brutally driving an ax into the man's head, and it's implied that this is what opens the floodgates for the plague to return. I've been of the mind that the show is strongest when it couches its storytelling in more realistic matters, and instead strays away from the clairvoyant silliness. But it's not as if this was the worst thing in the world, as it retroactively makes Bash's hunt for The Darkness far more germane to the narrative than it first appeared. It also ropes Bash back into the story at court, as he now has a cross to bear, just like everyone else does.

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For instance, Francis (Toby Regbo) must live with having killed his father. In one of the more stunning deviations from history, Francis realizes his father is truly lost to his madness after three strikes: 1) Henry murders a loyal subject in cold blood the morning after the attempt on his life, after what he interprets as some sort of abstract directive from God; 2) he stages a mock naval battle celebrating the victory at Calais, and in ordering live ammunition to be used in the battle, he ends up causing the deaths of over 100 men; and 3) he orders the remaining troops, who've just returned home from their victory at Calais, to leave their homes for the next big offensive against England, a battle they simply cannot win. With no other options, Francis takes matters into his own hands, taking the opportunity to knock out one of the tourney jousters, put on his armor, and joust his own father after Henry is inspired to take a turn at the celebratory joust himself. The resulting joust leaves Henry with a splinter piercing his brain, and Francis escaping back into the jousting tent to mull over what he's just done for France, for his subjects, and for himself. But especially for Mary, who is able to figure out, from a combination of Henry's lecherous actions around, her as well as Catherine (Megan Follows) revealing that Henry wants an annulment, that the King is planning on killing Francis and marrying her. Ultimately, though Francis didn't know what Henry was planning to do with Mary, his regicide came at just the right time.

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Except Henry doesn't die right away. He lingers long enough to say his goodbyes, his sanity apparently restored by the giant splinter piercing his brain (because medical science!). It's a silly premise, but it leads to some truly emotionally resonant moments. Catherine tearfully telling Henry that he's the love of her life is heartbreaking enough, but Henry pleading with Catherine to look after Diane after he's gone is crushingly poignant, as he argues that he doesn't want either of them to be alone in this world. And Catherine responds in exactly the way Catherine should, initially resisting the idea but begrudgingly accepting it out of fidelity to her soon-to-be-late husband's memory (Megan Follows is a national treasure). Yet this moment is dwarfed by the encounter between Francis and Henry, as Henry apologizes for how he's acted, and goes on to atone for the mistakes he's made. Henry explains the backstory surrounding Francis's namesake, as Henry wanted the throne as a youth, believing he would be the better king. Eventually, his lust for power overtook the love he had for his brother, and he poisoned Francis at a tennis match and usurped his place as the Dauphin. Alan Van Sprang is tremendous here, depicting Henry as a man who, despite fighting like hell not to let his emotions claim him, cannot remain strong in the face of what he's done. He completely breaks down, and Francis now understands why Henry always warned him against Bash, knowing how feuds between brothers can evolve. Father and son find something close to peace in those final moments, and it isn't long before Henry slips away, and Francis is suddenly the king of France. But that isn't even the most touching moment: as Bash arrives at the castle, too late to see his father off into the next life, he bends his knee in front of his younger brother in salute to the new king of France -- only for Francis to rush over to him before his knee can touch the ground, scooping him into an embrace. I swear, I was NOT expecting to spontaneously let a sob burst out, but dammit, it happened, and I can't exactly take it back now. That hit me right in the SOUL.

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Also landing a blow straight to the soul was, surprisingly, the story between Greer (Celina Sinden) and Leith (Jonathan Keltz). Leith obtains lands and tenants of his own from Francis, although he is unable to give him a title since Henry is nuttier than squirrel s*** and probably wouldn't hear of it anyway. Yet Leith is still confident that this will be enough to win Greer's heart. He offers himself to her, only to learn that she's engaged to Lord Castleroy (Michael Therriault) and cannot break the engagement because his funds are paying for her father's debts and her sisters' freedom to marry whomever they choose. Put plainly, even though he's now a "comfortable man," he's not a wealthy one, and he simply can't provide her with what she needs. However, her opinion changes once one of the ships in the mock naval battle explodes. As it turns out, Leith was scheduled to be on one of those ships and, fearing the worst, Greer suddenly regrets her choice. In the relief of finding Leith alive, the two lovers hookup once again...only for Greer to stop halfway through.

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Greer just can't bring herself to do it, and in that moment, Leith realizes that Greer will never accept him as he is. "When you are alone and miserable, remember this is the moment that you threw your happiness away. And I will remember you as the woman who told me I wasn't enough. And I will become everything you are so convinced that you need. I will rise and rise and rise until I am rich and powerful. But I will never be yours again." DAMN, son. I'm sure if he'd had a microphone at the time, he would have dropped it right then and there. Yet, in defense of Greer, what exactly did he expect her to do? She can't exactly drop Castleroy: she's a woman of practicalities, and it's not as if it's only her own life on her shoulders. Her entire family is relying on her marrying well. So while I can understand why Leith feels rejected, he seems to fundamentally misunderstand that Greer doesn't exactly have a choice here unless she wants to condemn her father to poverty and her sisters to loveless marriages. However, this isn't even the end of the storyline, as Leith decides to get over Greer by flirting with a hot redhead in the palace...who turns out to be Lord Castleroy's daughter?! At first I thought he might have sent his daughter to flirt with Leith to keep him from breaking up the engagement, but she seems delighted to have met Leith, and Lord Castleroy doesn't appear to have been purposely sending her to him. So...honest coincidence? Either way, it looks like Leith isn't exactly going to be out of Greer's life anytime soon, if he starts dating her future stepdaughter (that's going to be awkward as hell, though).

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Ultimately, we wrap around to the conclusion, with Francis now declared King of France, and Lola (Anna Popplewell) finally going into labor while on the road. She's able to get a message to the palace, and it's in this moment that Mary decides to come clean about Lola, telling Francis that Lola's child is his, and that he must go to her now. Toby Regbo deserves all the credit in the world for his reaction to this news, playing Francis as a man who literally has no idea how he's supposed to feel in this moment other than floored. It's every bit as good as Kane's wordless look of utter horror when she and Catherine deduce early in the episode that Henry means to have Francis killed. Just great, subtle little performances all around, here. But things are complicated by the sudden arrival of the Plague, which has already claimed countless people in villages around the kingdom. In essence, Francis is risking his life to get to Lola, as he could become afflicted with the Plague or, worse, bring it back to the palace with him and infect the aristocracy. Yet Mary can't convince him to stay now, not after having earlier urged him so strongly to go. Mary knows that Francis wants to be a good man by being there for Lola, but says they're rulers now and don't have the luxury of thinking with their hearts. However, Francis declares that he doesn't want to be the kind of king who doesn't do as his heart demands, and so he rides off after Lola, leaving Mary with little choice but to bar the gates to the palace behind him. Aaaaaand that's our season!

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Honestly, "Slaughter of Innocence" is kind of magnificent. Sure, it's incredibly busy, even for a season finale. And that can lead to certain structural problems, such as Lola going into labor and then disappearing from the narrative for thirty minutes, or Kenna being boxed in by The Darkness only for the story to veer off into another direction. But the broad strokes of what was accomplished here still work. This is a tremendous little show that has become a weekly favorite of mine, and its moments, both big and small, form a cohesive whole that makes this one of the most gratifying viewing experiences on the entire network at the moment. In short, I'm thrilled Reign was renewed, because I just can't imagine The CW's 2014-2015 Fall Schedule without it.